God’s Word is Truth

Posted on Jun 4, 2019 in General |

Lifespans in Genesis

 
There is much wasted time in the church discussing things that are plain and simple about Scripture if we truly believe that, “16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NKJV). When Christians proclaim this and then creatively attempt to fit God’s Word into the logic of mankind, then we make 2 Timothy 3:16-17 a false statement and discount the Bible completely. One example would be when we read passages like:

            12 Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel. 13 After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters. 14 So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died.

                15 Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared. 16 After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters. 17 So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died.
(Genesis 5:12-17, NKJV) There are believers who want to discount the ages of the genealogy of Genesis 5 because we cannot fathom people living 800 and 900 years. It is true that achieving the age of 90 and 120 is rare in the world today even with our modern medicine. When one part of the Bible is called into question, the entire Bible is open to being discredited among God’s people and the world. There is no picking and choosing what parts of the Bible can be taken literally and which parts need to be viewed figuratively.

            God’s Word is truth from Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” – Revelation 22:21, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (NKJV). It is true that the Bible is made up of many different kinds of literature styles such as prose and poetry presented in letters, prophecies, historical records, and genealogies. Poetry is certainly to be read differently than prose writing, but it does not make it any less true because it is poetic language that is used rather than formal sentence structure.

            Genesis 5 is not written in poetic form but in straight forward sentences that simply record the history of actual people who lived and had children. These are not groups of people who lived these lifespans, but individuals who benefited from the beginning of creation when mankind was intended by God to live eternally. It was the rebellion of people against God that brought sin and death into the world. The eternal life God created people to live lingered in the physical make up of mankind for centuries until well after the great flood. This view stays faithful to the authority of Scripture and confirms 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Any view different from this erodes the authority of the Word of God in a person’s heart.

            God will never fit into the logic of humanity; He is infinite and we are finite. There will be many who are more educated, scholarly, and wiser than I am who will take issue with this position that is held in my heart. I hold these positions because I firmly believe 2 Timothy 3:16-17, John 5:46-47, “6 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”; Ephesians 3:20-21, “20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen (NKJV).

            How can we possibly say that Moses only wrote truthfully about Jesus and was inaccurate about everything else he wrote by inspiration of God? How is it possible that we can claim that God can do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think and proclaim the ages in Genesis 5 are figurative or referring to something other than individuals? Yes, it is impossible for us to fathom how God can do these things, but He has done them nonetheless, believe it or not.

            Praying beyond the physical:

Father, stop me from reducing You to nothing bigger than my understanding and limitations.

Jesus, teach me to trust in Your Word rather than my understanding and logic

Spirit, increase my faith so nothing You share about the Father and Christ is disregarded by me.

 

Pastor Tom

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